For context, $77 billion is more than most nations spend on their military.

What we could have bought instead; a list of real problems that money could help significantly with, or fix entirely (generated with AI):

Universal Healthcare (Medicare for All)

• Est. cost: $3–4T per year
• $77B covers ~2–3 weeks of healthcare for the entire US
• Or ~6–7 million people for one year
• ~2% of annual national healthcare spend

High-Speed Rail and Public Transit

• Est. cost: $50–120M per mile
• $77B covers 600–1,200 miles of true HSR
• 3–5 major national corridors plus urban transit upgrades

Homelessness, Veterans, and Mental Health

• Est. cost: $150k–300k per housing unit; ~$25k/person/year care
• $77B covers 250,000–400,000 permanent housing units
• 10+ years of care for all chronically homeless
• 100% of veteran homelessness eliminated

Roads, Bridges, and Infrastructure

• Est. cost: ~$5M per bridge; ~$1M per mile of road
• $77B covers 15,000–20,000 bridge replacements
• ~100,000 miles of roadway rebuilt
• ~15–20% of all structurally deficient bridges

Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing

• CHIPS Act: $52B total
• $77B covers 150% of CHIPS Act
• 3–5 leading-edge fabs
• Full AI, defense, and automotive supply-chain security

Fusion and Advanced Energy

• ITER reactor: ~$22B
• SPARC program: ~$4B
• $77B covers 3 ITER-class reactors
• 10+ SPARC-class fusion programs

Climate Resilience and Clean Energy

• Est. cost: ~$1B per GW renewable capacity
• $77B covers 60+ GW clean power
• Electrification of ~10 million homes
• Coastal protection and grid modernization across multiple states

Public Sector Scale Comparison

• Equals 3+ years of NASA’s budget
• Equals 10 years of US homelessness funding
• Exceeds annual defense budgets of most countries